Tag Archives: Katherine Tegen Books

This month we celebrate a cornucopia of wonderful new middle-grade releases. Be sure to tell us which books you’re thankful for in the comments below.

COOL PHYSICS by Sarah Hutton, illustrated by Damien Weighill from Pavilion (November 1st)Aimed at older children and curious adults, this book covers everything you need to know about some of the most complex scientific ideas the world has ever seen, made accessible and fun—Newton’s Theory of Relativity, quantum physics, nuclear fission and fusion, quarks, Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and that old favorite E=mc2 are all explained here, clearly and entertainingly. There are also 10 practical experiments to give you even more insight into the theories, including making a pinhole camera, a whirlpool in a bottle and electric circuits with Play-Doh.

MOSQUITOES DON’T BITE ME by Pendred Noyce from Tumblehome Learning, Inc. (November 1st) Mosquitoes don’t bite Nala Simiyu. It’s part of who she is, like being a half-Kenyan seventh-grader whose mother is in a wheelchair. But when a schoolmate’s father–who happens to head up a large drug company–learns of Nala’s special power, the excitement begins. After helping out with mosquito research, Nala has the chance to travel to Kenya to investigate mosquitoes’ reactions to her father’s family. All goes well until a man heartbroken by his daughter’s death from malaria kidnaps Nala. In the midst of a realistic adventure story, this book will introduce young readers to such dilemmas as health disparities, subtle racism, and who owns biological information. Brave, fallible, compassionate and spirited, Nala is a strongly relatable character in a loving, imperfect family.

FIREFLY WILDLIFE ATLASby John Farndon from Firefly (November 1st) This beautiful book is from the producers of Firefly Encyclopedia of Animals, praised by Kirkus Reviews: “the entries come from all over the world; some are common and others rare, but all are interesting in some way… for browsers and researchers alike, this is a useful and inviting display — and a bargain.”

Firefly Wildlife Atlas is similar but approaches the animal kingdom by means of habitat. It is also remarkable for its scope and presentation, covering almost 1000 animals in meticulous full-color illustrations and concise authoritative text. From millipedes to monkeys, this book offers a detailed and thorough guide to a wide array of the world’s mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, as well as insects, spiders and other invertebrates.

THE GETAWAY (DIARY OF A WIMPY KID #12) by Jeff Kinney from Amulet (November 7th) Greg Heffley and his family are getting out of town. With the cold weather and the stress of the approaching holiday season, the Heffleys decide to escape to a tropical island resort for some much-needed rest and relaxation. A few days in paradise should do wonders for Greg and his frazzled family. But the Heffleys soon discover that paradise isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. Sun poisoning, stomach troubles, and venomous critters all threaten to ruin the family’s vacation. Can their trip be saved, or will this island getaway end in disaster?

DANIEL COLDSTAR #1 The Relic War by Stel Pavlou from HarperCollins (Novemeber 7th) Below the surface on a forgotten planet, Daniel Coldstar searches for relics from a lost civilization. Daniel has no memory of his past. All he knows is to do his job and fear the masters of the mines.

Until he unearths a relic more powerful than anything he has ever seen. A relic that might help him escape…

What follows is an epic outer space adventure filled with Truth Seekers, anatoms, Leechers, and the evil Sinja who seek to control the universe.

All that stands in their way is a boy named Daniel Coldstar, whose journey will change the galaxy forever.

HOW OSCAR INDIGO BROKE THE UNIVERSE (AND PUT IT BACK TOGETHER AGAIN) by David Teague from HarperCollins (November 7th) Oscar Indigo has never been good at baseball, so naturally he’s nervous when he has to fill in for his team’s injured All-Star, Lourdes. Luckily, Oscar has a mysterious gold watch that can stop time, which he uses to fake a game-winning home run. Now Oscar’s the underdog hero of his town and even Lourdes wants to be his friend.

But the universe is a precarious place, and you can’t just steal time without any consequences. If Oscar doesn’t find a way to return the time he stole, the universe will unwind completely.

Oscar wants nothing more than to ask Lourdes for help, but what would a baseball star like her think of a guy whose fake home run actually destroyed the universe? But as he and Lourdes grow closer, Oscar understands that it isn’t always what you do that makes you special—but who you are. And that confidence just might be the key to fixing the universe.

MARTHA AND THE SLAVE CATCHERS by Harriet Hyman Alonso, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon from Triangle Square (November 7th) Thirteen-year-old Martha Bartlett insists on being a part of the Underground Railroad rescue to bring her brother Jake back home to their abolitionist community in Connecticut. It’s 1854 and though African-Americans and mixed-race peoples in the north are supposed to be free, seven-year-old Jake, the orphan of a fugitive slave, is kidnapped by his “owner” and taken south to Maryland. Jake is what we’d now describe as on the autism spectrum, and Martha knows just how to reassure him when he’s anxious or fearful. Using aliases, disguises, and other subterfuges, Martha artfully dodges Will and Tom, the slave catchers, but struggles to rectify her new reality with her parents’ admonition to always tell the truth. She must be brave but not reckless, clever but not dishonest. But being perceived sometimes as white, sometimes as black during the perilous journey has thrown her sense of her own identity into turmoil. Alonso combines fiction and historical fact to weave a suspenseful story of courage, hope and self-discovery in the aftermath of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, while illuminating the bravery of abolitionists who fought against slavery.

On his own, Perry travels to Bunny Island, where dozens of bunnies are running wild. One in particular doesn’t seem quite right. A creature this cute shouldn’t exist in nature. Are there truly evil newts on the loose, or something much stranger…and more disturbingly adorable?

CICI’S JOURNAL: The Adventures of a Writer in Training by Joris Chamblain, and Aurelie Neyret from Feiwell and Friends (November 7th) Cici dreams of being a novelist. Her favorite subject: people, especially adults. She’s been watching them and taking notes. Everybody has one special secret, Cici figures, and if you want to write about people, you need to understand what’s hiding inside them. But now she’s discovered something truly strange: an old man who disappears into the forest every Sunday with huge pots of paint in all sorts of colors. What is he up to? Why does he look so sad when he comes back?

In a graphic novel interwoven with journal notes, scrapbook pieces, and doodles, Cici assembles clues about the odd and wonderful people she’s uncovered, even as she struggles to understand the mundane: her family and friends.

A CHILD THROUGH TIME from DK (November 7th) An original look at history that profiles 30 children from different eras so that children of today can discover the lives of the cave people, Romans, Vikings, and beyond through the eyes of someone their own age.

History books often focus on adults, but what was the past like for children? A Child Through Time is historically accurate and thoroughly researched, and brings the children of history to life—from the earliest civilizations to the Cold War, even imagining a child of the future. Packed with facts and including a specially commissioned illustration of each profiled child, this book examines the clothes children wore, the food they ate, the games they played, and the historic moments they witnessed—all through their own eyes. Maps, timelines, and collections of objects, as well as a perspective on the often ignored topic of family life through the ages, give wider historical background and present a unique side to history. Covering key curriculum topics in a new light, A Child Through Time is a perfect and visually stunning learning tool for children ages 7 and up.

THE LOST FROST GIRL by Amy Wilson from Katherine Tegen Books (November 7th) With a name like hers, Owl never expected her life to be normal, at home or at school. But when Owl finds out that she is Jack Frost’s daughter, her world shifts beyond what she could ever imagine.

Determined to meet him, Owl delves into Jack’s wonderful world of winter and magic–the kind of place she thought only existed in fairy tales. And as she notices frost patterns appearing on her skin and her tears turning to ice, Owl starts to wonder if being Jack Frost’s daughter means that she has powers of her very own.

At once breathtaking and brimming with heart, The Lost Frost Girl is a story of family, friendship, and the magic of embracing who you are meant to be.

Bold, opinionated, and haplessly self-confident, the world’s greatest fourth-grade detective faces her biggest challenge! When someone kidnaps beloved school mascot Eddie the Owl, Moxie is on the case―but she’s forced to fly solo now that her best friend (and crime-solving partner) has moved away.

Moxie must interview her classmates―both as potential new best friends and as possible suspects. She finds clues and points fingers but can’t save the owl on her own. Enter Moxie’s little brother, Milton. Quiet, cautious, and boring as a butter knife, he’s a good listener.

Can the Real McCoys form an unlikely alliance and solve the crime of the century?

LILY’S MOUNTAIN by Hannah Moderow from Houghton Mifflin (November 14th) Lily refuses to believe what everyone else accepts to be true: that her father has died while climbing Denali, the highest mountain in North America. Lily has grown up hiking in the Alaskan wilderness with her dad. He’s an expert climber. There’s no way he would let something like this happen. So instead of grieving, Lily decides to rescue him. Her plan takes her to Denali and on a journey that tests her physically and emotionally. In this powerful debut, Hannah Moderow has written an authentic Alaskan adventure that crosses terrain both beautiful and haunting–and ultimately shows the bond of family and the wonder of wild places.

GOLDELINE by Jimmy Cajoleas from HarperCollins (November 14th) In the wild, free woods of the Hinterlands, where magic is as real as stories are, Goldeline travels from camp to camp with Gruff and his bandits, getting by on the things they steal from carriages that pass through the woods.

But someone is after Goldeline. The same man who wants to cleanse the Hinterlands of anyone who’s different–and who convinced the overzealous Townies that her mother was a witch–suspects that Goldeline might be a witch, too. Now Goldeline must summon all the courage and magic she got from her momma to escape her pursuers, save her friends, and maybe even find a place to call home.

PENELOPE MARCH IS MELTING by Jeffrey Michael Ruby from Delacorte (November 14th) Something sinister has come to Glacier Cove, an icy-cold town that sits on top of an iceberg. Nothing bad ever happens here. Until now. And it’s up to Penelope March to stop it. Mmm-hmm, that Penelope–the bookworm who lives in the ramshackle house with her brother, Miles. The girl with the mom who–poof –disappeared. The one everyone ignores . . . except strange Coral Wanamaker, a tiny thing with raven-black hair and a black coat. When Penelope meets someone who seems to know secrets not only about Glacier Cove but about Penelope herself, she and Miles are pulled into an ancient mystery. Together, they’ll face the coldest, cruelest enemy ever known. Looks like the girl who only reads about adventures is going to start living one. Magic cookies. Volcanoes. Penguins. Sea monsters. And a girl hero with the strength and imagination to spring into action.

IN THE COUNTRY OF QUEENS by Cari Best from Farrar Straus Giroux (November 28th) Eleven-year-old Shirley Alice Burns lives with her domineering mother, Hurricane Anna, and loving Grandmother. One day she unexpectedly discovers that her beloved father isn’t in Absentia as her family would have her believe, but dead. And she understands all too well why they haven’t told her; she’s always been shy and quiet, and Anna has always been protective of her. But if Shirley doesn’t start speaking up, she isn’t going to be able to do the things she wants to do: go on vacation to Lake Winnipesaukee with her cousins, stop taking ballet lessons, and talk about her father. Through the help of a mouse, her hero Pippi Longstocking, and her cousin Phillie, Shirley finds the strength to give her dreams a voice and convince everyone, even Hurricane Anna, that she doesn’t need to be sheltered, especially from the truth. IN THE COUNTRY OF QUEENS is the debut novel from acclaimed picture-book author Cari Best.

CHARLIE NUMB3RS AND THE MAN IN THE MOON by Ben and Tonya Mezrich from Simon and Schuster (November 28th) Charlie is recruited to use his mathematical prowess to discover what happened to a box of stolen moon rocks in this follow up to Bringing Down the Mouse.Charlie Lewis is really good at math. So good, that he’s approached by a mysterious woman who needs his help. The woman is carrying an incredible item: an actual moon rock, one of the most valuable objects on Earth, and she’s investigating the theft of a box of moon rocks from NASA’s vault at the Johnson Space Center, and believes the stolen rocks are now in the possession of a former astronaut. Although she claims to work at NASA, Charlie suspects she is something else–but he decides the adventure is too good to pass up. Charlie and the whiz kids go undercover by entering the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s paper airplane contest, and head down to the nation’s capital. Working together, they master the principles of aerodynamics, wind science, and gravity to excel in the competition.Charlie must decide how far he’ll go to solve the mystery of the stolen moon rocks; is he willing to betray a new friendship? Or has he unwittingly been drawn into something even bigger than some missing chunks of the moon?

ODDITY by Sarah Cannon from Feiwel and Friends (November 28th) Welcome to Oddity, New Mexico, where normal is odd and odd is normal.

Ada Roundtree is no stranger to dodging carnivorous dumpsters, distracting zombie rabbits with marshmallows, and instigating games of alien punkball. But things haven’t been the same since her twin sister, Pearl, won the town’s yearly Sweepstakes and disappeared . . .

Along with her best friend, Raymond, and new-kid-from-Chicago Cayden (whose inability to accept being locked in the gym with live leopards is honestly quite laughable), Ada leads a self-given quest to discover Oddity’s secrets, even evading the invisible Blurmonster terrorizing the outskirts of town.

But one of their missions goes sideways, revealing something hinky with the Sweepstakes . . . and Ada can’t let it go. Because, if the Sweepstakes is bad, then what happened to Pearl?

Summer is winding down. Fall is teasing a new start. And school is in! What better way to welcome the new school year than with a list of new middle grade releases?

Multiple points-of-view lead to multiple theories about what really happened after one kid turns a punishment into a protest in this hilarious new novel from Michele Weber Hurwitz.
Perennial good kid Ethan Marcus has just done the unthinkable: refuse to stay seated during class. He’s not causing a riot; he’s not wandering around; he’s just sick of sitting. But the rules aren’t designed for Ethan, and so he is sent to the principal’s office.
When Ethan’s sentence results in a Reflection Day–McNutt Middle School’s answer to detention–his faculty advisor suggests that Ethan channel the energy that caused his “transgression” by entering the school’s Invention Day Competition. Ethan is not exactly Mark Zuckerberg, so he doubts his ability to make anything competition-worthy. That’s the department of his slightly older sister Erin. But as Ethan and his buddy Brian get into the assignment, they realize they might actually have something.
Enter Romanov, the resident tech whiz, refuses to give them tips, which causes Erin to be furious at her formally slacker now traitor brother. Meanwhile, Erin’s friend Zoe is steering clear of Erin’s drama for the first time ever after realizing that she may be crushing on Ethan. Then there’s Brian who has bigger things to worry about, and finally loner kid Wesley, who may know more than others realize…
Told in the perspectives of multiple students, discover what really happened on the day that one kid decided to take a stand against sitting down.

Perfect for fans of Tim Federle and Gary Schmidt, this is a hilarious and poignant tale about the trials of middle school when you’re coming of age—and coming out.

Alan Cole can’t stand up to his cruel brother, Nathan. He can’t escape the wrath of his demanding father, who thinks he’s about as exceptional as a goldfish. And—scariest of all—he can’t let the cute boy across the cafeteria know he has a crush on him.

But when Nathan discovers Alan’s secret, his older brother announces a high-stakes round of Cole vs. Cole. Each brother must complete seven nearly impossible tasks; whoever finishes the most wins the game. If Alan doesn’t want to be outed to all of Evergreen Middle School, he’s got to become the most well-known kid in school, get his first kiss, and stand up to Dad. Alan’s determined to prove—to Nathan, to the world, to himself—that this goldfish can learn to swim.

May the best Cole win.

Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven’t exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust. When local children begin to go missing, snatched from the beach and vanishing into wells, suspicious eyes turn to Corinne.

To rescue the missing children and clear her own name, Corinne goes deep into the ocean to find Mama D’Leau, the dangerous jumbie who rules the sea. But Mama D’Leau’s help comes with a price. Corinne and her friends Dru, Bouki, and Malik must travel with mermaids across the ocean to the shores of Ghana to fetch a powerful object for Mama D’Leau. The only thing more perilous than Corinne’s adventures across the sea is the foe that waits for her back home.

With its action-packed storytelling, diverse characters, and inventive twists on Caribbean and West African mythology and fairy tales, Rise of the Jumbies will appeal to readers of A Snicker of Magic, A Tale Dark and Grimm, and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

In the twelfth fantastical book from The Kingdom of Wrenly series, Prince Lucas and Clara go on an adventure in the forest realm of Trellis
All is not right in the forest realm of Trellis. Birds have left their nests and bears have abandoned their dens, as a mysterious magic threatens the natural order of the deep, dark woods. Together with a band of knights, Prince Lucas and Clara set out on an adventure that pits them against a dreaded sorcerer’s shadow. There’s only one problem: How can a shadow be defeated?
With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, The Kingdom of Wrenly chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

The New York Times bestselling Frazzled series continues

Things are looking up for Abbie Wu: this year she’ll run for class president and get a brand-new shiny locker. Until–she doesn’t…

In her second tumultuous misadventure, Abbie Wu tackles more unbelievably unfair and calamitous middle school days. From facing locker thieves and battling diabolical cats to having absolutely no idea what to build for her science project, Abbie Wu is still in perpetual crisis.

From author and professional doodler Booki Vivat, this second story follows Abbie Wu, your favorite hilariously neurotic middle school girl, as she tries to come up with solutions to what seems to be a series of inevitable catastrophes. Akin to Smile by Raina Telgemeier, Frazzled: Ordinary Mishaps and Inevitable Catastrophes is heavily illustrated, embarrassingly honest, and sure to appeal to anyone hoping to figuring out how to survive the ordinary mishaps of middle school.

A cancer survivor must readjust to “normal” middle school life in this hopeful novel from the author of Star-Crossed and Truth or Dare.Norah Levy has just completed two years of treatment for leukemia and is ready to go back to the “real world” of middle school. She knows it’ll be tricky–but like the Greek mythological characters she read about while she was sick, Norah’s up for any challenge.But seventh grade turns out to be trickier than she thought. Norah’s classmates don’t know what to make of her. Her best friend, Harper, tries to be there for her, but she doesn’t get it, really–and is hanging out with a new group of girls. Norah’s other good friend, Silas, is avoiding her. What’s that about, anyway?When Norah is placed with the eighth graders for math and science she meets Griffin, a cute boy who encourages her love of Greek mythology and art. And Norah decides not to tell him her secret–that she was “that girl” who had cancer. But when something happens to make secret-keeping impossible, Norah must figure out a way to share her cancer story.But how do you explain something to others that you can’t explain to yourself? Can Nora take her cue from her favorite Greek myth? And then, once she finds the words, can she move forward with a whole new ‘normal’?

Violet Barnaby searches for the joy in life after losing her mother in this sweet and funny follow-up to The Charming Life of Izzy Malone.Violet Barnaby is a having a blue Christmas. She’s still grieving the loss of her mother, and to make things worse, her dad has just married Melanie Harmer, a.k.a. the meanest teacher at Dandelion Hollow Middle School. But on the day Violet and her dad are packing up and moving into the new house they’ll share with Melanie and Melanie’s two children, Violet finds a letter her mother wrote to her before she died, asking Violet to enjoy Christmas, along with a Christmas Wish List–things her mom wants her to do during the holiday season. On the list are exactly the kinds of things Violet doesn’t want to do this year, like Be Someone’s Secret Santa; Give Someone the Gift of Your Time: Volunteer; and Bake Christmas Cookies.Violet shows the letter to her friend Izzy’s Aunt Mildred, who calls a meeting of the Charm Girls, a club Izzy and Violet belong to along with their friends, Daisy and Sophia. Aunt Mildred decides she will give them each a charm to put on their bracelet if they do all of the tasks on the Christmas Wish List, which Violet is not too happy about. She’d rather forget about the list completely, but feels compelled to honor her mother’s wishes.And when Izzy’s crush confides a big secret to Violet, Violet feels like she is stuck between her best friend and the boy who she just might have a crush on, too…

Auma loves to run. In her small Kenyan village, she’s a track star with big dreams. A track scholarship could allow her to attend high school and maybe even become a doctor. But a strange new sickness called AIDS is ravaging the village, and when her father becomes ill, Auma’s family needs her help at home. Now Auma faces a difficult choice. Should she stay to support her family or leave to pursue her own future? Auma knows her family depends on her, but leaving might be the only way to find the answers to questions about this new disease.

“The Mola Lisa is missing!

Someone sneaky has stolen the world’s most famous painting. Good thing Q and Ray are on the case! These second-grade critters are Elm Tree Elementary’s best crime solvers. Ray loves magic and stinky cheese. Q loves disguises and surprises. But can the super sleuths outwit an art thief?”

African penguins waddle around nesting colonies in lower numbers than ever before. Despite South African government efforts to protect the penguin colonies and their ocean fish supply, young penguins still struggle to survive. Fuzzy chicks waiting for food in open nests may overheat in the sun or become prey. Others simply may not get enough food to survive on their own once their parents leave. But new conservation methods, including rescuing and hand-feeding vulnerable chicks, are giving experts hope. Can volunteers and scientists help save Africa’s only penguins before it’s too late?

During World War I, British and American ships were painted with bold colors and crazy patterns from bow to stern. Why would anyone put such eye-catching designs on ships?

When twelve year-old misfit Midnight Reynolds takes a job helping out eccentric Miss Appleby in the mansion down the street, she never imagined her work would involve battling ghosts. But as it turns out, Midnight and her new employer have quite a bit in common—they were both born on Halloween and have the power to see spirits of the dead. But when Midnight learns more about the history of her town, she starts to wonder if she’s fighting on the right side.

Women have been doing amazing, daring, and dangerous things for years, but they’re rarely mentioned in our history books as adventurers, daredevils, or rebels. This new compilation of brief biographies features women throughout history who have risked their lives for adventure—many of whom you may not know, but all of whom you’ll WANT to know, such as:

• Annie Edson Taylor, the first person who dared to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel
• Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman who dared to fly in space
• Helen Gibson, the first woman who dared to be a professional stunt person
• And many more!

This is the perfect read for anyone who wants to know what it means to explore, discover, play, climb, and fight like a girl!

Well, there you have’em! A great collection of new books for you to explore. And don’t forget that there are many more amazing reads out there, too.

Scholastic Focus is the new imprint from Scholastic publishing that will focus on narrative nonfiction for middle grade and young adult readers. The line plans to publish between six and nine new hardcover titles annual, by both debut and established authors, as well as reissue back listed paperbacks.

Wordplay is a new two-day book festival coming to Minnesota next year. The festival plans to bring more than 100 authors, including children’s writers, to the Twin Cities in May. Organizers envision a fresh approach to their celebration of words: offbeat events like yoga with the authors, and lots of parties. No participating authors have been announced yet.

Author Jacqueline Woodson has been named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She will be officially inaugurated at the Library of Congress on Tuesday, January 9, 2018. Her job as ambassador is to raise national awareness of “the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.” (from the Library of Congress web site.)

December 14, 2017

This August, author James Baldwin’s Little Man, Little Man, will be back on bookshelves. The book is the only children’s story ever written by the acclaimed novelist, essayist, playwright, and civil rights activist. Originally released in 1976, it went out of print quickly. Little Man, Little Man will be reissued by Duke University Press, complete with original illustrations. It also features a forward by Baldwin’s nephew, who was the inspiration for the story’s main character, T.J.

World Read Aloud Day is coming! Mark your calendars for February 1, 2018. The goal? Read out loud together, share our stories, and raise our voices in support of reading and writing as a basic human right. Use #WorldReadAloudDay to share and gather ideas for reading to your community.

October 18, 2017

#USVIPubFund is live and chock full of critiques, consultations, and ARC giveaways. What is it? An auction offered by publishing professionals, editors, agents, and authors, to provide hurricane disaster relief to the hard-hit US Virgin Islands. Auction proceeds go to the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. The auction closes Thursday at 9pm Eastern on Thursday, October 19.

October 4, 2017

#PubforPR is the hurricane relief fundraiser spearheaded by authors, agents, and publishers to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. All funds raised by the online auction will go to the organizations Unidos por Puerto Rico and ConPRmetidos, both of which are on the island. More than 100 authors, agents, illustrators, and editors have offered services. Act now — the auction closes on October 5.

September 20, 2017

New York Comic Con in the library! On October 5, this major convention will partner with the New York Public Library to offer programming on comics and graphic novels for librarians and teachers. A sampling of the session includes this talk on creating stories with positive female characters: Girl Power Comics: Middle Grade Fiction for Girls and Boys,

August 30, 2017

Hurricane Harvey Book Club: A teacher from Katy, Texas started a Facebook group book club to help support and bring joy to children who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. So far the group has nearly 56,000 members. They’re also on Twitter: @HHarveyBookClub. The club is busy — they’ve also spearheaded a fundraising campaign to sell t-shirts. Proceeds go toward replacing books in Texas teachers’ classroom libraries destroyed by the floods. So far, they’ve raised nearly $15,000.

Literary community pitches in for Hurricane Harvey Relief: Kate Messner’s KidLitCares is pitching in with an auction to help victims of Hurricane Harvey, which is still dumping rain on flood-ravaged Texas and Louisiana. More than 200 authors, agents, and editors have donated services; all proceeds go to fund Red Cross relief efforts. The auction runs until September 7, 2017. NOTE: When you click on the link, be patient. The site has been overwhelmed and crashes; if you can’t get in, try again later. It’s worth it. Among the many donors: Chelsea Clinton.

August 25, 2017

Congratulations to MUF blogger Jonathan Rosen on his debut this month, NIGHT OF THE LIVING CUDDLE BUNNIES. Check out our interview with him here, and sign up with the Rafflecopter to get your own free copy of Jonathan’s book.

In case you missed it, in July the New Yorker published this retrospective on the 50th anniversary of FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF BASIL E. FRANKWEILER.

August 16, 2017

The American Library Association has released a statement condemning racism and the recent violence in Charlottesville. “The ALA supports voices of hope as such actions mirror the library community’s efforts to abolish bigotry and cultural invisibility,” said ALA President Jim Neal.

Teachers searching for help to start the conversation about Charlottesville with their students have a new resource: #CharlottesvilleCurriculum. Melinda Anderson, a contributing writer for The Atlantic who covers education and race, created the Twitter hashtag to share websites, videos, and other documents to use in class. One of the resources listed on the hashtag includes this book list from the National Network of State Teachers of the Year.

August 9, 2017

We have a winner for the Rafflecopter giveaway of the debut novel KARMA KHULLAR’S MUSTACHE!

Thanks, Jennifer B., and happy reading!

August 3, 2017

The popular MY WEIRD SCHOOL series by Dan Gutman also has fun games to go along. Enter this Rafflecopter for a chance to win a free copy! Giveaway ends on August 8.

MG Author Jason Reynolds, author of AS BRAVE AS YOU, will be the official spokesperson for Indies First. This is the national campaign that supports independent bookstores, and will bring together authors, readers, and publishers at events across the country. Indies First will be held on November 25.

June 28, 2017

Children’s Book Sales: Great news for readers and writers alike – books sales in children’s fiction are on the rise. Not by a lot, only 2% this month over this time last year, but we’ll take it as a sign people are reading. The larger increase is in nonfiction, by 9%. Leading the pack: Chelsea Clinton’s SHE PERSISTED, with over 13,000 copies sold.

Congratulations! Lots of great news from MUF authors. This month, Laurie J. Edwards w/a Rachel J. Good’s Book 3 in the Sisters & Friends Amish series, GIFT FROM ABOVE (YA/Adult) went on sale, as did Julie K. Rubini’s VIRGINIA HAMILTON: AMERICA’S STORYTELLER (Ohio University Press/Biographies for Young Readers). Next month, we get Beth McMullen’s MRS. SMITH’S SPY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (S&S/Aladdin).

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From the Mixed-Up Files is the group blog of middle-grade authors celebrating books for middle-grade readers. For anyone with a passion for children’s literature—teachers, librarians, parents, kids, writers, industry professionals— we offer regularly updated book lists organized by unique categories, author interviews, market news, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a children's book from writing to publishing to promoting.